Recipe: Hijiki with Carrots

Hijiki seaweed and carrots are classic combination in Japanese cooking. This marriage of earth and sea is salty, sweet, pleasantly crunchy, and highly nutritious. Here's our version of this side dish, using some of the kumquats we've been buying at the farmers' market, but lemon juice or rice vinegar works, too. The basic recipe can also be enhanced with other ingredients such as tofu, edamame, or burdock root, and served with soba noodles or rice to make a more complete meal.

Dried hijiki may be found at Japanese and Korean markets and many health food stores, including Whole Foods.